2022 Merit Scholarship Recipient: Cindy Shi

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) is a system that postures imprisonment as a solution to political, social, and economic problems while generating profit, persistence of racism, and disenfranchisement of marginalized populations.The function of the system is to replace the loss of production from the end of chattel slavery by exploiting primarily Black labor for capital and control. Proponents of the PIC (namely its beneficiaries) will claim the function of the system is to reduce the rate of crime in the United States and that it behaves through our legislative and judicial processes. It is critical to explore the system’s components in detail to recognize all the elements at play in order to understand, redesign, and improve the ways in which we can effectively reduce harm and achieve foundational community safety.

Erica Meiners’ aphorism, “Liberation under oppression is unthinkable by design”, astutely captures how the PIC was manufactured to produce these results. As many activists, organizers, and critics have examined, the perpetuation of prisoners is the product that sustains the demand, and the strategy is maintaining the conditions that foster crime. If the purpose of a system is what it does, then the PIC damages more than it claims to reduce. Although it might have been built with one set of intentions, the effects on relations rippling throughout its sub-system, parallel systems, and super-systems define the actual function: to quiet political dissent, maintain the control for those in power, and exchange punishment for profit at the cost of human lives.

If there is no such thing as a sustainable product, perhaps only a sustainable product system, the emphasis falls on the operations that ensure its sustainability. From scholars Fred Moten and Stefano Harney, we must seek “abolition as the founding of a new society”. Design is the problem, but it can also be the solution.

This project was a semester-long progress nurtured in Curt McNamara’s Systems Thinking course. Systems Thinking has helped me develop an aerial view of operations, processes, and structures. It is ubiquitous that systems are everywhere, or rather, that everything is a system.

See Cindy's full presentation (PDF)

What made you choose to come to MCAD for your MA?

It is evident that what we need now, more than ever, is the collaboration of multiple disciplines. Due to the complex, systematic nature of sustainability, this collaboration is necessary for creating effective, long-term change. I sought MCAD’s MA in Sustainable Design program because I believed it would provide the dynamic perspective I’m looking for. Somewhere in my early twenties, I realized that I don’t want to make more things, I want to change how things are made. My goals are to build resilient systems that prioritize social and environmental justice for our communities and ecosystems. My work in the Sustainable Design program reinforces my belief in the power of design. 

Favorite thing about the program (so far)?

My favorite thing about the program is the network we foster with classmates and instructors who live in other parts of the country (and world). It has been insightful to process coursework and current events with people experiencing different socio-environmental factors than my own. It helps us all understand the issues that dominate our homes, while developing empathy for things I might not directly experience. It builds a collective “think global, act local” sense of camaraderie. 

What inspires you? 

It is an understatement to say our instructors share a wealth of knowledge. The most rewarding aspect of the program is passing the baton—integrating the knowledge gained from their experiences with the way we approach the current problems we are facing. The incredible thing about the sustainable frameworks we are learning about is that we become a part of the paradigm shift they prescribe. The program is an enriching hub for collaborative thinking and problem-solving. It has been motivating and inciting to be on the receiving end of so much knowledge. I find that pursuing this degree has helped me find the right balance between cynicism and nihilism. Activist and organizer Mariame Kaba once said, “hope is a discipline”, and pursuing a career that tackles climate change is an embodiment of that. If I did not have a sense of hope that we can at least leave some kind of positive impact behind, it would be very hard to wake up in the morning. The tools we are learning in the Sustainable Design program instill hope.

What is the MCAD online learning experience like?

Online learning provides a flexibility we are rarely afforded in other aspects of our lives. It has allowed me to take care of more than one life priority simultaneously. I do find that I crave face-to-face interactions with my classmates because stimulating conversation always happens when you get a bunch of people who share value sets together.

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

Mycelium leather and its potential as a leverage point for the future of many industries.